Article of manufacture and method of producing the same.



A. 0. TROSTEL.

ARHCLE OF MANUFACTURE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE awn APPLICATION FILED SEPT.27,1916.

LQiBQUL Patante l Em 9 w that I have applied to leather consisting I DFFIE.

ALBERT 0. TROSTEL, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

' ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1917.

Application filed September 27, 1916. Serial No; 122,360.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT O. TROSTEL, acitiz'en of the United States, residing at Milwaukee, Milwaukee county, Wisconsin, have invented a certain new Article of Manufacture and Method of Producing the Same, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates particularly to a new kind of pattern-surfaced leather that is to be used for ornamental purposes, such as shoes, belts,-pocket-b0oks, and a variety of other uses wherein a handsome appearance of the leather is important. The main object of my invention is to give a finish to the leather, which incorporates a pattern, that I may vary at will, and at the same time have the leather retain its original flatness and substantially all of the original grain. I am fully aware that patterns have been produced upon leather by stamping or embossing thereon, so as to produce a raised pattern, but I know of no one who has succeeded in producing a pattern upon leather which retains its original texture, flatness, and substantially all of its original grain and does not have the appearance of'having been artificially pressed or roughened. The difficulty with leather that has been embossed is that owing to its unevenness the high spots easily scufi' oil and the leather will not retain its shape but will stretch and stretch unevenly and is unusable for many purposes. I obviate both of these'defects by my process.

In the drawings Figure 1 shows a desigrfi irregularly shaped, mottled light and dark slightly raised or embossed thereon.

spots; Fig. 2 shows a piece of leather embodying my invention and having a pattern like that of watered silk;,Fig. 3 shows a piece of leather having a geometrical design of a star thereon. The surface of each of these is fiat, the design not being in any way raised or embossed.

To make my new style of leather, I first press the grain side of the leather into intimate contact with a die or plate having the pattern I desire to impress upon the leat ihlcr,

1s embossing is but a temporary embossing and I sometimes call it fugitive embossing, because theembossing per 86 disappears and does not remain in the final result. I then submit thegrained surface of the leather to find that by having the pattern on the die or plate consist of relatively small subdivided areas better results are produced, as I am thus able to better control the differential action of the buffing Wheel. This does not mean that the pattern itself must ne'ces- I sarily be small, or cover the entire surface of the leather, but that it shall be composed or made up of relatively small contrasting parts or areas. By making the pattern onthe die or plate very shallow I am enabled to raise the corresponding surfaces of the leather a minimum, but nevertheless sufficient amount to permit of the differential action of the surface and the intaglio surface of the leather, which results in the leathers being substantially fiat after the bufling is completed. As a result of this, I spots which are subjected to do I get a leather which will lose its shape.

By the expression substantially flat? as used herein and in the claims I do not mean that every vestige of the embossing must be eliminated or that the leather must be a plane and not a curved surface, but rather that the relief shall be practically eliminated. r

If preferred, or if more pronounced differences in color or texture are desired than can be obtained by merely slightly impressing the pattern upon the leather, I make the die or plate with a slightly dee er impression and inthis event do not bu the leather clear down to a flat surface. If I operate in this latter manner, I preferably thereafter subject the leather to heavy ressure between fiat plates to a shape of its original obviate high stretch and atness.

way. As a result of this process I get a patbuffing Wheel upon the raised ain reduce it to the The. finishv is then. put upon theleather in the ordinary scuffing, nor

original shape and strength, not being subject to stretching, nor is the pattern subject to scufiing olf because of the inequalities thereof.

I can also emphasize the pattern and produce some very striking efiects by dyeing my ieather with a basal color which is different from the surface color. Thus, I may dye the leather with a basal color of blue and a surface color of brown. As a result thereof when the leather is treated by my process the high lights of the pattern are shown up in blue against a background of brown. Even though this is not done there is quite a remarkable difference in color. Thus, the portions that are buffed in black leather show blue. In the case of white leather, While the color is the same, the sheen is different. In brown leather the high spots show brown but the tone thereof is difi'erent. I am thus enabled to vary not only the sheen and tone but also the color and am enabled to have a pattern of say a green tree or star against a brown background. In this way I am also enabled to identify my leather by marking my name thereon, preferably in the same color and very lightly, it appearing in the finished product much as a watermark appears upon paper.

While I generally employ my process upon the grain side of leather, I do not limit myself thereto as it may be applied. to the flesh side thereof or to a split.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A process of finishing leather, which consists in producing a temporary, low-rerelatively small subdivided areas upon its surface, and then dressing ofi the surface of the temporary relief portions and restoring the leather to substantial fiatness.

2. A process of finishing leather, which consists in producing a temporary, lowrrelief pattern of finely subdivided areas upon its surface, dressingofl' the surface of the temporary relief portions, thereby producing contrast between the temporary relief and intaglio parts of said pattern, and restoring the leather to substantial flatness.

8. A process of finishing leather, having a surface finish of a color difierent from that of its sub-surface which consists in producing a temporary low-relief pattern of finely subdivided areas upon its surface, then removing so much of the surface of the temporary relief portions as to expose the subsurface coloring, thereby producing contrast between the temporary relief and intaglio parts of said pattern and restoring the leather to substantial flatness.

4. As a new article of manufacture, pattern-surfaced leather, having a surface that lief pattern of is substantially fiat and smooth, and is pro-- vided with an integrally-incorporated pattern consisting of relatively small subdivided, differentiated areas, produced by differential bufling.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. ALBERT O. 'IItOS'IEL.

Witnesses:

Gr. A. Mnssnn, ANNA A. Smnrs. 

